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38Then Saul had his own military clothes put on David. He put a bronze helmet on David’s head and had him put on armor. 39David strapped his sword on over the military clothes and tried to walk, but he was not used to them. “I can’t walk in these,” David said to Saul, “I’m not used to them.” So David took them off. 40Instead, he took his staff in his hand and chose five smooth stones from the wadi and put them in the pouch, in his shepherd’s bag. Then, with his sling in his hand, he approached the Philistine.

41The Philistine came closer and closer to David, with the shield-bearer in front of him.42When the Philistine looked and saw David, he despised him because he was just a youth, healthy and handsome. 43He said to David, “Am I a dog that you come against me with sticks?” Then he cursed David by his gods. 44“Come here,” the Philistine called to David, “and I’ll give your flesh to the birds of the sky and the wild beasts!”

45David said to the Philistine: “You come against me with a dagger, spear, and sword, but I come against

you in the name of Yahweh of Hosts, the God of Israel’s armies—you have defied Him. 46Today, the Lord will hand you over to me. Today, I’ll strike you down, cut your head off, and give the corpses of the Philistine camp to the birds of the sky and the creatures of the earth. Then all the world will know that Israel has a God, 47and this whole assembly will know that it is not by sword or by spear that the Lord saves, for the battle is the Lord’s. He will hand you over to us.”

48When the Philistine started forward to attack him, David ran quickly to the battle line to meet the Philistine. 49David put his hand in the bag, took out a stone, slung it, and hit the Philistine on his forehead. The stone sank into his forehead, and he fell on his face to the ground. 50David defeated the Philistine with a sling and a stone. Even though David had no sword, he struck down the Philistine and killed him. 51David ran and stood over him. He grabbed the Philistine’s sword, pulled it from its sheath, and used it to kill him. Then he cut off his head. When the Philistines saw that their hero was dead, they ran.

HHIGHLIGHT: 1 Samuel 17:38-51

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AAPPLY

1. If you’ve heard the sermon, what were your impressions of it? If you haven’t yet, what were your initial impressions from reading God’s Word? What stuck out to you or challenged you in what you heard or read?

2. How did David’s daily habits prepare him for facing Goliath? What does this tell us about the importance of our daily spiritual habits?

3. Why did David even face Goliath in the first place? Why didn't he just pray for God to remove that seemingly insurmountable obstacle? What was his aim in this encounter? How do you view obstacles in your life?

4. What “Goliath” you are facing, or have you had to face in the past? How does David’s speech in vv.45-47 affect how you view that encounter?

EXPLAIN

1 Samuel 14:52 informs us, “The conflict with the Philistines was fierce all of Saul’s days, so whenever Saul noticed any strong or brave man, he enlisted him.” Saul proved himself repeatedly unfit for leading God’s people, and so God removed His Spirit from Saul and put it into David. The first time we saw David was when Samuel was anointing him over the rest of his brothers; today we will see him as he takes his first steps toward being the powerful, Godly king that he was by standing up to Goliath when no one else would.

v.38: In this ancient culture, it was believed that wearing the clothing of another person imbued the wearer with that person’s essence—it made those two people essentially share the owner’s very being. In this way, Saul would have traditionally received part of the glory for David’s victory. David is very clear on the matter, though—the Lord will share His victory with nobody, not even David.

v.40: David could have done everything leading up to this point perfectly. He could have spoken boldly in defiance of Goliath, rejected Saul’s armor, trusted in God’s armor, and selected his battle weapons, but if he hadn’t approached Goliath, it would have just been talk. Real faith is what made David draw near him and, later, run up to the line of battle without fear. Five smooth stones. Commentators are divided here. Some suggest that these stones are for Goliath and each of his brothers (2 Samuel 21:18-22 suggests that he had four brothers). Some believe that by grabbing multiple stones, he was not putting God to the test by limiting him to a single outcome. Others even say that they represent the five books of the Torah.

v.51: In an ironic twist, David did not kill Goliath with an Israelite weapon, but with Goliath’s own sword. The shot from the sling did the trick at incapacitating the giant, triggering his defeat, but his death came when David walked over and finished the job.

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RRESPOND

5. Do your daily habits prepare you for battle against “Goliath” like David’s did? What is something you can address in your life this week that will keep you focused on giving glory to God throughout any situation you face?

Encourage one another through email, text messages, or coffee dates throughout the week to build up and encourage each other.

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